Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Lost - Recap & Review - The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

Lost“The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham”

Original Air Date: Feb 25, 2009

Laura Kelley - Associate Staff Writerlaurakelley@thetwocentscorp.com

So, who else reading this column really loves Ben Linus even more after this week’s episode? I may be the only one, but his snappy dressing and cold-blooded evil just give my heart the warm fuzzies. But enough about me. On the island, Cesar, a survivor of the plane the six were on to get back to the island, is looking through an office. A woman comes in, and says they found someone standing in the water dressed up. They go to the beach and we see Locke remove his Darth Vader hood and tell them his name. Locke’s not the Vader here, though, Ben is, and you’ll soon understand why.

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So, who else reading this column really loves Ben Linus even more after this week’s episode? I may be the only one, but his snappy dressing and cold-blooded evil just give my heart the warm fuzzies. But enough about me. On the island, Cesar, a survivor of the plane the six were on to get back to the island, is looking through an office. A woman comes in, and says they found someone standing in the water dressed up. They go to the beach and we see Locke remove his Darth Vader hood and tell them his name. Locke’s not the Vader here, though, Ben is, and you’ll soon understand why.

The next day, Locke is staring at the ocean when the woman asks him why he was dressed up, and he tells her he remembers dying. A normal person would have backed away slowly, but she keeps listening. I think we have our new Kate, considering her bad decision-making skills. Flash back to Locke turning the wheel. He wakes up in Tunisia, and throws up. What a wuss, right? He sees a security camera, but no one comes to get him until nighttime, when a truck takes him to a makeshift hospital. A doctor pops his leg bone back in, and we see Matthew Abbadon hiding behind a see-through curtain. He is as good at hiding as Jack is at saying no to drugs. When Locke wakes up, Charles Widmore is by his bedside.

This episode is full of Locke waking up to people watching him sleep, and it’s pretty creepy. Widmore tells Locke that they met when he was 17, it’s been three years since the Oceanic Six came back, and tells him that Ben exiled him from the island. Widmore is afraid that “Ben might fool you into leaving the island, like he did me.”

Widmore knows that Locke wants to bring the six back, and says he’ll help Locke because “there’s a war coming, and if you’re not back when that happens, the wrong side is going to win.” You are no Obi-Wan, Charles, so give it up.

Widmore gives Locke the Jeremy Bentham ID, money, and pictures of the six, all of whom he’s been watching. Locke asks how he’s supposed to know that Widmore isn’t lying, and Widmore says that he hasn’t tried to kill Locke, but Ben has. Locke asks why he sent that pesky freighter, and Widmore says it was so Ben could be removed and Locke could lead. That’s the lamest excuse I’ve ever heard. I guess Keamy was just, like, the hospitality coordinator or something. Widmore tells Locke that just because Alpert says he’ll die doesn’t mean he will, and sends him off in a Range Rover driven by Abbadon. Hey, it’s Driving Miss Daisy gone horribly, terribly wrong!

Locke tells Abbadon to take him to Santo Domingo, where we see Sayid in the exact same spot he was in when the photo was taken. Sayid refuses to go back, and says Locke only wants to go back because he has nowhere else to go. Locke continues his Carmen Sandiego-esque journey across the world and heads to Walt’s school, where Walt tells him that he had a dream about Locke being on the island in a suit, surrounded by people who want to hurt him. Abbadon nags him about failing to convince people to go back with him, and Locke says he only needs to convince one. Locke should have looked behind him, because Ben was wearing a snazzy tie and staring ominously at him. Be still, my heart.

Locke goes to see Hurley, who is freaked out that he’s still alive. Hurley sees Abbadon, and refuses to go because Abbadon is evil. Locke and Abbadon have a talk about how Abbadon once told Locke to go on that walkabout, and Abbadon says his job is to “help people get where they need to go.” Locke then heads to Kate’s house, and she’s a major bitch. Locke asks Abbadon to find Helen, and it turns out she died of an aneurysm. Locke totally could have taken her to the island and fixed her, but no, he’s too busy throwing a pity party for himself. As they’re about to drive elsewhere, Abbadon is shot, a lot. Locke tries to drive but is in a car crash, and he wakes up in the hospital with Jack and Jack’s ever-present emo beard. Jack asks why he’s here, and Locke says he thinks someone’s trying to kill him so he can’t go back to the island. Jack gets way, way too emotional (dude went to the Evangeline Lilly school of whine-acting, that’s for sure) and calls Locke a lonely old man. Wow, I had no idea that abusing painkillers makes you such a Debbie Downer.

Speaking of downers, Locke goes to a gross hotel room and writes his suicide note, throws the phone Widmore gave him in the trash, and gets ready to hang himself. As Locke is about to kill himself, Ben breaks down a door, which is surprising, menacing, and adorable at the same time. Ben totally admits to shooting Abbadon, and they talk, but as soon as Locke mentions that he needs to see Eloise Hawking, Ben strangles him. I think Locke’s mention of Eloise was sort of his “tell” to Ben that he might be trouble, and Ben was afraid Widmore might know what she’s doing too. For someone who’s supposedly never faked a suicide before, Ben sets it up to look like one really quickly, and he says he’ll really miss Locke. I’m sure he would miss Ben too, but he’s kind of busy being dead at the moment. Back on the island, Cesar tells Locke that some people were hurt in the crash, and it turns out Ben is one of them.

Wow. This episode broke my brain in a lot of ways. I got what I wished for (more Ben) and some surprises I didn’t see coming. I also saw a Jack in the Box ad that said “whoever thought you could have a meal in a bowl?” Ponder the stupidity of that one till next week, and leave your two cents in the comments!

1. I noticed the Sayid/picture thing, too. Weird.2. So, does Walt need to go back to the island at some point, too?3. Did NOT see the whole Abbadon getting shot thing coming. Maybe it was Massive Dynamic... wait... wrong show, same actor. Whatever.4. I think Ben was just trying to get back to the island, didn't know how, used John to get the info, and as soon as he had it - Ka-pow!5. I'm kinda sweet on Ben, too. Hate to admit.

I think that he killed Locke because sacrifice does not mean 'suicide'. It usually means being selfless. Ergo, in most religions, when you kill yourself you cannot get to the promised land. If Locke would have killed himself, he never would have been able to go back to the island. So I think Ben was always going to kill Locke, he was just genuinely shocked at what Locke said about Jin being alive and needing to see Eloise Hawking.